Sifter



2 Sheets--Sheet I 0, M. MORSE.

(No Model.

SIFTER Patent-ed Feb 5,1895.

0 M i y a I w (No Model.) 2 Sheets$heet 2 O. M. MORSE.

SIPTER.

.No. 533,724. Patented Feb. 5, 1895.

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ORVILLE M. MORSE, OF JACKSON, MICHIGAN.

SIFTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 533,724, dated February 5, 1895.

Application filed April 12, 18%. Serial No. 507,321. (No model.)

To (2Z5 whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ORVILLE M. MORSE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jackson, in the county of Jackson and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sifters, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The invention relates to that class of sifters intended for use in mills, for cleaning, separating or grading grain or its products, and particularly to that class of sifters sometimes known as plan sifters, that is the screens suspended free to swing, with actuating devices for imparting a gyrating motion thereto, in a horizontal plane.

The invention consists in the peculiar construction, arrangement and combination of the actuating mechanism, all as more fully hereinafter described.

Figure 1 is a vertical, longitudinal section through a sifting machine, embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is ahorizontal section thereof on line 20-90. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing rotary and cycloidal path or screen with different centers of motion for a three sided cam working in a true square. Fig. i is a similar diagram showing path of screen with modifled form of square or bearings. Fig. 5 is a plan showing a slightly different way of applying the cams. Fig. 6 is a plan partly in section illustrating the preferred construction of the cam bearing and Fig.7 is a side elevation thereof.

In the present state of the art such plan sitters are usually actuated bya crank, upon a rotating shaft, which produces a circular motion of the screen. In such construction,

other devices are required to feed the material over the surface toward the discharge end of the screen, such as fiap valves, loops, &c., or by inclining the screen. With such actuating devices the uniform circular motion produces but little lateral motion of the material upon the sitter.

Myinvention is intended to produce a number of different positive motions of the material on the sieve by causing it preferably to gyrate in a cycloidal path, and further to produce such differential movement of the sieve as to effect a preponderance of movement of material toward the discharge end of the screen, and thereby feed in that direction without the use of auxiliary feed. To this end I preferably employ the mechanism herein described.

A is a supporting frame.

B is a screen frame suspended by the links 0, free to swing in a horizontal plane. The screen preferably has an imperforate top and bottom, the top having a feed opening D at one end and the bottom a discharge opening E at the other end.

F is a feed spout and G G are hoppers to re ceive the material discharged from the screen and the bottom board thereof respectively. These parts may be of any known and usual construction.

H H are shafts, one at each end of the machine, driven from any suitable source of power, such as the line shaft H The two shafts H H I have shown geared together by the link belt L or other gearing.

F is a frame secured to the screen and having a block or hearing J at each end through whichthe shafts H H pass. These shafts form the actuating shafts for the screen, through the cams D working in the bearing M in the blocks J, and these cams and bearings I construct in such manner as to preferably produce such a gyrating movement of the screen as will give a number of movements of the material 'on the screen at each revolution of the shaft, and to produce a differential movement thereof in such a manner as to efifect the greatest movement of the material in one direction, and thus positively feed the material to the discharge end of the screen without the use of especial feed devices, such as loops, flap valves, &c.

It is well known that a cam may be constructed in a true square, as shown in Fig. 3, and the cam being rotated on its center will move the square (if suspended free to swing) in a circular path, as shown by the dotted lines 0, Fig. 3. If the center of motion of the cam is located away from its center point, as at O, the cam will cause the square to move in a cycloidal path, as shown in dotted lines P, Fig. 3. The motion thus produced will be a symmetrical one, the material being moved laterally forward and back, and longitudinally forward and back the same distance at the end of each of the four loops, or nodes,

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and while it will thus be thoroughly screened, there will be no means of positively feeding it to any point except by auxiliary devices. This form-of screen actuating devices will be desirable for any screen, with other means of feeding, and will effect good results in separating, but I prefer to so modify the square or bearing in which the cam turns, as to effect the feeding to the material, as hereinafter set forth. The front and rear complementary faces a b of the square I modify, so as to make an inward projection of the side a, and correspondingly cut away the opposite face I). The effect of this is to lengthen the node or loop made by the long arm of the cam passing over the modified face a of the square, and correspondingly shorten the opposite node, thus creating an uneven or differential movement of the screen, whereby it will disturb the material most, or feed the material farther at one node than it will return at the corresponding opposite node. Thus, material fed in through the spout F upon the screen, will be positively fed over the screen to the discharge end and fall into the spout G, and such material as is sifted through upon the bottom board,will be correspondingly fed to the discharge end and fall into the spout G. The feeding is accomplished solely by the differential movement of the screen so as to produce a preponderance of disturbance of movement of the material toward the discharge end of the screen.

While I have shown two shafts and two cams, one at each end of the screen, and prefer this construction, one cam and bearing centrally arranged might be used, and other ways of carrying out my method may be employed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In using two cams, I preferably employ them as shown in Fig. 5, having the squared bearing at one end, and at the other end simply working between the bars F of the frame. This will steady this end of the frame at all points of gyration, cause it to follow the path described, while the single cam in the squared bearing will in reality be the driving cam.

The hearing I prefer to construct is shown a bearing on the screen or frame, a rotating cam engaging said bearing and adapted to positively gyrate the screen in a path com-- prising a series of nodes or loops, and a shaft for driving the cam connected therewith away from its central point, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a suspended screen, a rotating cam, a drive shaft therefor con nected thereto away from its center a bearing on the screen in which "the cam engages, and modified end faces on such bearing adapted to produce a differential movement of the screen, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. The combination of a suspended screen, a frame thereon, a squared hearing at each end, rotating shafts passing through such bearings, geared together, cams fitting in said bearings, having their center of motion outside of the center of the cams, an inwardly projecting hearing at one end of the bearings, and complementary cut away bearings at the opposite end, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the suspended screen, the bars F thereon, the cams K working between the bars at each end, the cross bars h '5 having oppositely inclined bearing faces against which one cam works, and means for rotating the cams, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I a-ffix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ORVILLE M. MORSE.

Witnesses:

M. B. ODOGHERTY, O. F. BARTHEL. 

